Vespro

Our interpretation finds its essence in the organic and emotional force of this veritable sacred opera dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and sends listeners straight into the heart of Monteverdi's powerful writing. It immerses them in a choir with powerful timbres and an orchestra teeming with colours, and offers them a jubilant sound experience.

I draw my inspiration from the interpretation, the choice of instruments and the ornamentation throughout the rich history of Venice. A powerful economic city throughout the Middle Ages and part of the Renaissance, Venice was one of the breeding grounds for maritime and cultural exchanges.

We alternate between Gregorian antiphons, psalms in fauxbourdon taken from an anonymous 17th century manuscript kept in Carpentras, and pieces by Monteverdi. This gives a fairly realistic overview of what musical practice may have been like in the middle of the 17th century in the whole of the Mediterranean area : on the one hand monodic religious singing, on the other the almost improvised practice of polyphony, popular in churches, and finally the more learned and concertante writing of a composer nourished by these different practices.